Game Changer
by Screaming Kittycat
Summary: Riverdale was no longer the sweet and safe place it was always made out to be. With Jason Blossom's death, the town had become scared of who might be next. But there is a game changer, an Angel who would bring out a side that Riverdale has never shown before. But it is unknown whether it is a good or bad side. Only time will tell. Jughead/Oc romance story.
1. The Game Changer Returns

Our Story is about a town. A small town. And the people who live in the town. From a distance, it presents itself like so many other small towns all over the world. Safe. Decent. Innocent. Get closer, though, and you start seeing the shadows underneath.

The name of our town is Riverdale.

And our story begins, I guess…with what the Blossom twins did this summer. On the Fourth of July, just after dawn…Jason and Cheryl Blossom drove out to Sweetwater River for an early morning boat ride. The next thing that we know happened for sure, is that Dilton Doiley, who was leading Riverdale's Boy Scout Troop on a bird-watching expedition came upon Cheryl by the river's edge.

Riverdale Police dragged Sweetwater River for Jason's body but never found it. So, a week later the Blossom family buried an empty casket, and Jason's death was ruled an accident as the story that Cheryl told made the rounds. That Cheryl dropped a glove in the water, and Jason reached down to get it, and accidentally tipped the boat. And Panicked. And drowned.

As for us, we were still talking about the July 4th tragedy, on the last day of summer vacation.

It was on a night where many were dwelling on the tragedy when a friend had returned to the Northside of the town. Betty and Archie were chatting at Pop's Chock'lit shoppe when she walked in. The girl was of average height and pale skin, her bright orange hair was cut into a pixie style though it was messed up in a way that showed she constantly touched it. Her blue eyes scanned the diner with hesitancy yet excitement.

She was a very pretty young woman, and her expensive clothes only added to it. She dressed similar to Cheryl Blossom, the girl wore a black flared skirt that rested on her waist and ended above the knee, a white, sleeveless blouse, black-gloves, ankle high, lace-up, black boots, and a choker around her neck.

It took Archie a moment to realise who this woman was before he gasped and shot straight up from his chair. "Angel!" the girl turned around and smiled at the boy who was hurrying to her side. Angelica Sweetheart was Archie Andrew's cousin on his mother's side. She had gone away on holiday with her father for the summer and had come back looking completely different. Before the summer, she was a small, weak girl who hated everything. Now, she was quite different.

"Archie!" she shouted back just as enthusiastically and embraced him heartily "my god cousin, you've gotten strong!"

"Blame working for my dad" they pulled away and turned to Betty who also embraced Angel.

Jughead was sitting at the far back of Pop's, silently watching the heartfelt reunion. To him, her sudden change marked the change of all of Riverdale. He may be her friend but even he could feel the swift change in the air the moment she entered the diner. Whether her return would be for the better or for worse, that was yet to be seen. All he knew, was that Riverdale would be forever altered in the coming weeks.

* * *

Riverdale high was the pride and joy of the town, teenagers entered the school and left it as the future of America. "So, I usually start off my tours with a little historical context," Betty said to Veronica as they left the registration office. Veronica Lodge was the new girl in school, she was a rich new Yorker whose dad was currently in jail for fraud and embezzlement. Her mother, Hermione, had brought them to her home town so they could get away from the people who spoke terrible things behind their backs. "Riverdale high first opened its door in 1941, and—"

"And hasn't been redecorated since, apparently" Veronica cut in bitterly, though her tone held no malice. "Honestly, I feel like I'm wandering through the lost epilogue of _Our Town._ " The duo shared a chuckle at her reference "So, what's the social scene like here? Any nightclubs?"

"A strip club called the Ho Zone, and a tragic gay bar called innuendo," a boy said as he moved to Veronica's right "Friday nights, football games. Tailgate parties at the Mal-Mart parking lot. Saturday night is movie night, regardless of what's at the Bijou and you better get there early because we don't have reserved seating in Riverdale. Sunday nights? Thank god for HBO."

Betty chuckled at her friends' antics "Veronica Lodge, Kevin Keller. Veronica's new here, Kevin is—"

"Gay. Thank God. Let's be friends."

They shook hands as Kevin asked, "is it true what they say about your dad?" Betty looked at him silently, telling him to shut up.

Veronica looked far from impressed "that he's the devil incarnate? I stand by my father" Betty and Kevin remained silent "Does everyone here know?" their silence told her yes "Wonderful. Ten minutes in and I'm already the Blue Jasmine of Riverdale High."

"Oh, don't worry about that. There is juicier gossip right now" Kevin said cheekily as he pointed to a figure coming their way. "Little Angel did some growing up over the summer."

"Who is that?" Veronica asked as she too stared at the newcomer. Every head turned to look at the girl who they last saw as a shy, and angry girl. Now she was walking with newfound confidence and an uncaring attitude.

Betty smiled and said, "that, is Angelica Sweetheart, she's Archie's cousin and a long-time friend of mine and Kevin's. She's pretty intelligent and is a whiz with a computer."

"Her Mom's a Northsider and her Dad's a Southside Serpent, its Riverdale's very own gang" Kevin continued "the, uhh, rocking bod is a recent development."

As Angelica stopped in front of Betty, the blonde said cheekily "who bought you this time Angel, Mom or Dad?"

They hugged before Angel replied "funnily enough, both. When mom found out that Dad has a girlfriend she got sooo mad that she sent me a big fat check in the hopes that I wouldn't stay with him over the summer. Dad got pissed and took me to LA to see his girl's family, I went shopping with his missus and she and her mom…groomed me? I guess you could say. I like her, so I let her do…this" she pointed to herself. She noticed Veronica standing patiently beside her and turned to her with a smile "I heard there was a newbie, you must be Veronica Lodge. My mom is good friends with yours. Her name is Hailey."

Veronica shook her hand as she asked, "Wow, your mother is Hailey Sinclair?"

"Yes, but she goes by my Dad's name, Sweetheart because she is obsessed over him" they turned to head to class as the bell rang.

"I thought she was still married?"

"Technically yes but Dad's been wanting a divorce for a long time and she refuses to sign. She goes by Sinclair when she doesn't want to be associated with the Sweetheart name since it's a Southside name."

"So, do you live with your Mom or Dad?"

"Mom on weekdays because she lives close to the school and Dad on the weekends and every Holiday. Anyway, enough about me, what's your first class?"

"I have English."

"Damn, I have Math" she stopped by the classroom and waved her hands "I will see you all at lunch" she clicked her fingers and pointed at them before strolling inside.

"She looks like a valley girl yet acts like a tomboy," Veronica said with a snort "my brain hurts."

Kevin laughed at that "get used to it, Angel acts however she wants, despite what clothing she wears. And speaking of Angel, we should follow her lead and head to class."

* * *

Angelica entered the math class and quickly skimmed over all the students, so she could decide who to sit next to. She refused to sit next to the testosterone-filled boys who were looking at her as if they already had her. They never gave her a glance when she was a shy bookworm and yet they will definitely stare lecherously at her now that she had a makeover.

She was almost about to give up and choose the least annoying male to sit next to until she saw the familiar crown beanie and brooding features. Smirking, she shuffled past all the boys and took the seat next to him. "You know, Jughead, if we have children, they will be beautiful brooding ginger babies" was her greeting to the mysterious writer.

He smirked but never looked away from his laptop as he replied, "how do you know our children will be ginger? Brooding? Yes, crazy? Definitely, but ginger? I think they'd have my hair."

"Every child that my mother's side has had is ginger, our kids will be no different."

"Are you sure you're not a Blossom?" he stopped typing and turned to her with a smirk, knowing that comparing her to a Blossom would annoy her.

"I will kick you Jug" they shared a laugh before quieting down when the teacher called for attention "how was your summer?"

"The same as usual" he replied, "I'm trying to keep the drive in a float, but the serpents are trashing it up."

"It's on the border of North and South, Jug. People don't wanna go there because they don't wanna be in the same place as the other side."

He sighed deeply but nodded "I know…"

Angel saw his sad expression and felt guilty about her opinion "what else did you do over the summer?"

"I want to write a story about Jason Blossom's death. It's a major shock to Riverdale so I want to capture it in the moment."

When Angel heard about the death of Jason by Betty calling her, she was honestly shocked that it happened. It was an accident since he drowned but it was a surprise because Jason was an incredibly skilled swimmer and the Sweetwater River's currents were hardly strong enough that a pro swimmer couldn't swim through it. It didn't add up. "Didn't think the rich boy would ever be offed like that."

"I'm a little sceptical on how he died as well but with no proof and no body we can't investigate."

"It'd be nice to find his body, at least. I may not like Cheryl very much, but she deserves closure" Jughead agreed silently but decided not to continue on that thought. Angel knew exactly how Cheryl would be feeling right now.

"So, what's with the lifestyle change?" he asked, referring to her haircut, makeup, clothing and all-around attitude.

"Surprisingly, Dad's new missus has really help me get through a lot of my issues. And she's given me the confidence to be like…this" she leant forward and nudged his shoulder "and don't think I've ignored your help. She just helped me with some things that only someone who felt what I've felt can."

"Well I'm glad, now our babies won't be broody _and_ messed up."

"Did you forget my threat of kicking you? I'm not afraid to hit a writer, even one as cute as you."

"Stop with the flirting, it never works."

"Aww, Jug, don't you remember our promise?"

"I do" when they were younger, Jughead had found the teddy bear that she had lost and returned it. She was so elated that she asked him to marry her. He had told her that they were too young but if they weren't married or dating someone when they were 18 then they would get married.

"Good so then I have to keep flirting so you don't date anyone" she looked down at her book since the conversation was over. She was quite frank with her attraction to Jughead, but she didn't know whether he was oblivious or just chose to ignore her. She was fine with it. Unlike Betty, she was fine with being just friends with Jughead instead of something more.

* * *

After first period, the entire school was forced to sit in the auditorium to listen to Cheryl use her brother's death as a popularity gain.

"Thank you for that moment of silence," Cheryl said after a moment to collect her thoughts "many of you were lucky enough to have known my brother personally. Each and every one of you meant the world to Jason. I loved my brother. He was, and always will be, my soul mate. So, I speak with the confidence only a twin could have. Jason wouldn't want us to spend the year mourning. Jason would want us to move on with our lives. Which is why I've asked the school board not to cancel the back-to-school semi-formal" she smiled gleefully as the auditory erupted with clapping and cheers. "But rather to let us use it as a way to heal, collectively and celebrate my brother's too, too short life on this mortal coil."

Angelica was rolling her eyes at Cheryl's antics and decided to tune her out "its as if her brother won an award instead of dying" she whispered to Jughead who shrugged back.

"People grieve different ways" he shot back "she must be grieving by…being Cheryl."

"That's true I suppose."

"Just let her do what she wants so long as it doesn't affect you."

"Please give your prayers to my family during this trying time. Thank you" the school clapped and ushered out of the auditorium as it was now lunch time.

Angel had managed to get Jughead to sit with Betty and the gang despite him no longer being friends with Archie. Her stupid cousin was meant to go camping with the youngest Jones but bailed on him without any notice or excuse. It was a low thing to do and she will be scolding him when school finishes. You don't ditch friends, especially your best friend.

Jughead sat at the very end of the table and on the complete other side of Archie so he didn't have to look at him. Archie spared him a guilty look but said nothing. He has a bad habit of never apologising for what he does wrong. Dunno where he gets it from since his parents never act like that. Must be a Sinclair thing but it skipped his mother.

They were currently listening to Archie's recorded music when Veronica came over, she looked nervous but tried to hide it behind a smile "Can I join?" Archie closed his laptop as Betty said she could "what are we doing?" she asked as she slid into the seat next to Angel. Kevin was sitting next to Angel and facing Archie and Betty was sitting in between Archie and Jughead. She and Kevin understood the tenseness between Archie and Jug, but she would never ostracise him just because she has a crush on Archie.

"Listening to one of Archie's songs" Betty replied as she smiled longingly at the red-headed boy.

Kevin nodded and said, "I thought we were going to have to pretend to like it, but it's actually really good."

"Singing runs in the family" Angel said with a cheeky smile "I heard from mom that Fred has quite a nice voice though don't tell him I told you."

"Wait, that was you signing something you wrote?" Veronica asked with an awed voice, not a lot of boys have a nice voice and even less were willing to let people hear it.

"It's rough" Archie replied with a sheepish glance at the Lodge daughter.

"No, its great" the table agreed with Betty. Except for Jughead, he was trying extremely hard to lose himself in his writing.

Veronica nodded, "It's incredible, actually. The little snippet I heard. Is that your thing? Music?" everyone but Archie noticed Veronica's mild flirting and spared a glance at Betty whose expression fell. "Are you doing something with that?"

"Yeah, that's the plan" not wanting the attention to stay on him, he asked Veronica how her first day was.

"Not to be a complete narcissist, but I thought people would be more—"

"Obsessed with you?" Kevin cut in, he wasn't very impressed with Veronica, especially after watching her flirt with Archie, even though she knew Betty liked him. "Any other year, you'd be trending number one. This year, it's all about Cheryl trying to win the Best Supporting Psycho Oscar for her role as Riverdale High's bereaved Red Widow" he turned to Angel and winked at her "though Angel got quite a bit of attention this morning with her Malibu Make Over."

"Yay" Angel said sarcastically "I had Chuck come up to me and ask me out to Pops. Told him to shove his inflated ego up his ass."

"They should like you for your personality, not your looks," Jughead said offhandedly, he was only half listening to the conversation, but he wanted to put his two cents worth in.

The group looked at him but knew there was no point speaking to him since he was in a creative mode, you couldn't get much out of him in that state. Archie sighed as the guilt returned "I should go. Meeting with Grundy, then football tryouts."

"You play football too? What don't you do?" Angel rolled her eyes at Veronica as Archie ran away.

Kevin noticed Cheryl making their way over to them and quickly turned to Betty "Before you ask, Blue jasmine, no, she has not invited—"

"No, not yet. And don't talk about Archie" Betty quickly said as Cheryl made it to their table.

"Veronica Lodge," she said in a sweet voice which masked her ulterior motive "I'd heard whisperings. I'm Cheryl Blossom. May I sit? Betty, would you mind?" Betty quickly slid closer to Jug as Cheryl sat down. "So, what are you 4 hens gossiping about?" she asked, completely ignoring that Jughead was at the end of the table. "Archie's Efron-esque emergence from the chrysalis of puberty?"

Betty shook her head at Veronica who quickly thought up a good enough excuse "Angel's sudden glow up. I don't know what she looked like before but she's a babe now."

Cheryl looked to Angel and gave her a large smile "yes, it was rather surprising to see her walking the halls, I swear she's part Blossom."

"I have noticed that, yes" Angel replied awkwardly, she had used the summer to get over her great rage at Cheryl, but she wasn't jumping to be her friend.

"And I would like to extend an olive branch to you, Angel. I hope we can be great friends this year and put our ugly past behind us."

Angel grabbed Kevin's hand and squeezed it for support as flashes of the past ran through her mind "I agree, new year, new us."

"Excellent, which is why I would like to ask you and Veronica if you would try out for Cheerleading. I am senior Captain of the River Vixens."

"Is Cheerleading still a thing?" Kevin sneered.

Cheryl glared at him and scathingly shot back, "is being the gay best friend still a thing?" she looked back to Veronica and put her smile back on "some people say it's retro. I say it's eternal and iconic."

"At Spence, I sat at the top of the elites' pyramid. I'm in."

"I guess I'll give it a go" Jughead looked up from his laptop and stared at Angel like she had lost her mind.

Veronica nodded and looked to the blonde "Betty, you're trying out too."

Cheryl was incredibly good at masking her disapproval behind a smile "of course, anyone's welcome to try out. But Betty's already got so much on her plate right now" she looked at all the food on Betty's plate "and being a Vixen is kind of a full-time thing, but open to all" she stood from the table but continued to talk to Veronica and Angel "follow me on Twitter and I'll do the same. My handle's CherylBombshell." And with her shameless plug, she walked away.

"She makes my head hurt" Angel muttered into Kevin's shoulder as he stroked her hair.

Veronica noticed Betty less than impressed looks and said, "Okay, go ahead and hate on cheerleading, but if Hipster Prince Harry—"

"Oh, I'd love to be a cheerleader" Betty cut in before the Lodge talked about Archie "it would look great on my college applications but last year when I tried out, Cheryl said I was too fat."

"I told you not to try out Betts," Angel said with a shrug "what did Cheryl say during tryouts? I forgot."

"Too season five Betty Draper. It was a great line" Kev noticed Betty's glare and backtracked quickly "but not at all true."

"Well, you're a total smoke show now" Veronica complimented "I mean it. As hot and as smart as you are, you should be the Queen Bee of this drab hive" Angel noticed Kev's raised eyebrow and nudged him to stay quiet "look, if either of you want to be a River Vixen, I'll help you prep. I have moves."

"I took ballet and gymnastics until a year ago, so I have some moves, just not cheerleading ones."

"Well, Angel, you're halfway there. All you need is some school spirit" they looked to Betty and awaited her answer.

"Okay, you know what? Show me your moves" Angel clapped excitedly.

"This is great, we can infiltrate the popular group, find out all their secrets and take over the school!"

"I like your enthusiasm Angel," Betty said with a giggle.

"Why the sudden interest in cheerleading?" Jughead asked as he closed his laptop.

Angel shrugged, "I dunno, it's a new experience and like Betty said, it would look great on my college application. And our kids will then be broody _and_ have amazing dance skills."

Veronica cocked her head at the duo, "are you two dating?"

Betty snorted at that, "no, it's a thing we've been doing since junior year."

Kevin nodded in agreement, "we all think that if Jug and Angel ever had kids they would be the most beautiful children on earth. It started as a joke but now it's just a regular thing we bring up. I still think they're endgame."

"Well I think they'd be great together" Veronica agreed with Kevin's statement.

Angel sighed dramatically and placed a hand on her forehead "but alas, his heart does not belong to me."

"A tragic shame" Jughead shot back, barely affected by Angel's joking words. He was well aware of her feelings for him, but he didn't think he deserved her. He was a homeless Southside kid who will probably either get stuck flipping burgers or taking over his Dad's job. Angel's Dad may be Southside, but her Mother was Northside and loaded with money, Angel could go anywhere and be with anyone, she shouldn't be tied to a loser like him.

The group noticed Jugheads expression but chose not to say anything. Betty's been trying for years to get Jughead to stop being self-deprecating, but the teen was incredibly stubborn.

* * *

"We're blue and gold! We're dynamite! We'll take you down and fight! We'll fight! Whoo! Go Bulldogs!"

Veronica, Betty and Angel had quickly practised a simple routine that the Lodge woman was confident would win them all a spot on the team. Though, from the looks on Cheryl's and her gaggle of girl's faces, they were not of the same mind. "Hm. Ladies, where's the heat? Where's the sizzle?" Cheryl said with an air of boredom. She turned to Angel and cocked her head "I know for a fact that you do gymnastics and ballet and yet you displayed none of that."

Angel shrugged and replied, "well, what would you like to see?"

"I want you to do a scorpion" Angel nodded and turned to the side, she grabbed her left foot and pulled it so it pointed above her head "excellent, now a handspring" she complied "and lastly, a roundoff" after completing all she was asked of, she turned back to Cheryl whilst trying hard not to show her heaving breaths. Its been a while since she last did anything like that "you're a little rusty, but I suppose its been a while. No matter, with practice, you will be the best on the team. And there's no point in interviewing you as I know enough about you. Congratulations, you are now officially a River Vixen" the cheer squad clapped excitedly whilst Angel stepped back as Cheryl turned to Veronica and Betty "now you two, show me some heat."

Veronica only took a mere second to think of something that would really wow Cheryl, being a Lodge meant always being one step ahead of everyone and _never_ showing her weaknesses "Well, you haven't seen _our_ big finish yet" she pulled Betty to her and whispered for her to trust her, only Betty was surprised when Veronica began to passionately make out with her.

They pulled away and saw no change in expression from any of the Cheerleaders "Check your sell-by date, ladies" Cheryl said scathingly "Faux-lesbian kissing hasn't been taboo since 1994. So, let see if you do better with the interview portion." She turned her gaze to the Cooper girl first "Betty. How's your sister doing?"

Betty immediately tensed. Hesitatingly, she replied, "umm, Polly's fine. Thanks for asking."

"Veronica, has Betty told you about her sister?"

"Uh, no"

"Go ahead, Betty. Tell Veronica about your sister and my dear brother."

"Polly and Jason dated."

Cheryl snorted at that "I wouldn't say dated."

"It didn't end well."

"In fact, Jason's probably why your sister had a nervous breakdown and now lives in a group home. Isn't it?"

Angel finally decided to step in "come on, Cheryl. Betty is not Polly, don't take your anger out on her."

Cheryl snapped her gaze to the new Cheerleader "and why would you defend Polly after what she did" she said scathingly, her eyes were alight with fire as she gazed into Angel's much softer one. "What she had caused?"

Angel looked away and glared at the floor "I know what Polly did but…Betty is not her, so don't punish her for the sins of her sister" her words had more meaning behind it than anyone would ever realise, except for Cheryl. Those last words seemed to resonate with Cheryl and caused great pain within her too, pain from a distant memory that was once cherished lovingly.

"Right," Cheryl said strongly after a moment of silence "Veronica. Welcome to the River Vixens. Betty…better luck next time" Angel's words had the opposite effect on the Captain as it caused a great rage within her that she took out of the Cooper girl.

"Wait, what?" Veronica said in both shock and anger "why? Because you couldn't bully Betty into being a bitch?"

"I need girls with fire on my squad."

"I know what you need, Cheryl" Veronica shot back "because I know who you are. You would rather people fear than like you. So, you traffic in terror and intimidation. You're rich, so you've never been held accountable. But I'm living proof…that certainty, that entitlement you wear on your head like a crown…it won't last. Eventually, there will be a reckoning. Or maybe…that reckoning is now. And maybe that reckoning…is me. Betty, Angel and I come as a matching set, you want us two, you take us all. You wanted fire? Sorry, Cheryl Bombshell, my speciality is ice."

Angel new that Cheryl would never cave to intimidation, especially not from a Lodge so she decided to give it a try, "Look, ladies. Most of the team graduated last year so you are severely understaffed. And right now, you've got three incredibly skill and passionate girls who want to join your team. The River Vixens were beaten by Greendale high last year at nationals and even _I_ don't want them to win this year. Let us in and the competition and the recognition as the best squad in America is as good as yours."

She knew that she was manipulating Cheryl but if it got them _all_ onto the team then she was willing to do it. She knew that Cheryl hates defeat and their defeat at the hand of the Greendale squad pissed the Blossom girl off to no ends.

And it was that assurance that got Betty, Angel and Veronica into the River Vixens "Fine" Cheryl said begrudgingly "you're all on the squad, head out back to receive your uniform. And ladies" she said which caused the trio to stop "don't disgrace the uniform."

In the locker room, the trio were giggling as they changed into their squad uniform "Perfect" Veronica said to the two girls who looked excitedly at their uniform "now we're a matching set."

"Red, blonde and black" Angel continued "we're the terrifying trio."

"I gotta say Betty, the look is very Betty Draper season one."

Betty blushed and grasped Veronica's hand "why did-? Why did you defend me? I understood why Angel fought for me but why you? I know the crowd you ran with in New York. Why are you being so nice?"

"I'd rather not talk about it in here" the duo nodded and walked outside so Veronica could talk freely "when my father got arrested…it was the worst thing ever. All these trolls started writing horrible things about us. We'd get letters and e-mails saying that my dad was a thief…my mom was a clueless socialite…and that I was this spoiled, rich bitch, ice princess. And what hurts the most about it was…the things the trolls were writing…were true."

"Even if that was true, no one deserves to attack you and your family like that" Angel said with anger lacing her tone. "I don't think you're that bad."

Veronica shrugged, "Well back in New York, I was. I was like Cheryl. I was worse than Cheryl. So, when my mom said we were moving to Riverdale…I made a pact with myself. To use this as an opportunity to become maybe, hopefully…a better version of myself."

"That's a lot of pressure" Betty replied softly, her mind swirling in contemplation "when Polly and Jason got together…it meant everything to her and nothing to me" Veronica noticed the sudden change in Angel's expression but chose not to comment, all she knew was that she disagreed with Betty's statement. "And things got super intense and weird and toxic and my mom turned on Polly. Said Polly wasn't her daughter anymore, said all these awful things to her. Jason hurt Polly, but it's my mom who broke her."

The trio stood in sorrowful silence until Veronica decided to end it "Archie!" she shouted as she turned to Betty, "You're so doing this."

"What?"

"Slay your dragons, Betty Copper, one by one" she replied quickly as Archie stopped before them "Hi, Teen Outlander."

"Your references confuse me," Angel said as she hugged her cousin, he chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder "don't ruin my uniform with your sweaty body."

Archie chuckled and turned to the blonde and blackette "Speaking of which, they are pretty nice outfits."

Veronica chuckled and replied cheekily, "well Betty here really wowed Cheryl at the auditions. And speaking of Betty, she has something she wants to ask you about the back-to-school dance" Betty shot her a betrayed look but kept silent "go on, Betty. Ask."

"I-I was wondering if you wanted to come…with both of us."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Oh, thank god you didn't include me in that."

"It's your first dance at Riverdale" Betty continued her excuse "you should have someone to go with, even if it's just a friend."

Veronica decided to give up on being a matchmaker as it was getting nothing done "I mean, I'd love to."

Archie sighed and let his arm drop from Angel's shoulder "no, I'm not really in the headspace for a dance."

"Oh, that's okay."

Angel pinched that back of Archie's arm which caused him to yelp in pain "don't be an idiot, I know for a fact that you want to go to the dance. You are not letting these two fine, young ladies go alone. I won't accept that."

"I agree," Veronica said with a nod "take a break from being a tortured musical genius and come spend a blissful evening with not one, but two newly-minted River Vixens. We'll text you time and place."

Archie stared at the three women who were clearly not going to budge and gave up "heh, ok. Yeah, okay but what about you Angel? I don't want you going alone?"

Angel sighed at the question "I've been afraid to convince Jughead to go because he's stubborn as hell."

"No idea why he wouldn't want to go with you," Veronica said with a smirk "you are more of a bombshell than Cheryl."

"Jughead isn't one for looks," Archie said back, he may not be on speaking terms with the dude, but he thought he and Angel should at least try to be more than friends, but they refuse to speak to each other about it. "Anyway, I have to get back to practice, see you three later."

* * *

Angel had gotten Jughead to come to her Mother's place and play some Call of Duty Zombies, he rarely came over because her mother was absolutely horrible and hated anyone from the Southside because she thought they would take her daughter away from her. "Oh shit, get to the corner it's the clown round!"

"But I haven't finished using the wheel!"

"No! I'm down!"

"I'll go rez you!"

"No Jug, you'll die!"

"Dammit I'm down!" they slapped their controllers on their laps and sighed, "42 scenes, I think we beat our record."

"Its all about teamwork" they put their controllers on the table and grabbed the bowl of Doritos to munch on until they wanted to play again "so, Veronica and Betty are going with Archie to the dance."

"What a lady's man," Jughead said after swallowing a mouthful of chips "but good on Betty for gaining confidence."

"Yeah, good on her" Angel took in a deep breath before speaking again, "so, I was wondering cause, you know, I don't have a date, and you don't have a date, and I don't wanna go alone, and so I thought it would be a good idea if we, you know, go to…ge…ther?"

Jughead stayed silent as he tried to process her word vomit when he realised what she said he looked at her completely startled "did you just ask me to the dance?"

"No-Yes, maybe…yes but only if you want to I mean you don't have to like I said but it would be cool, you know to go together."

"Whoa, whoa, stop or your gonna pass out" he grabbed her shoulder and forced her to face him "I'm not much of a dance kinda guy."

"I know, I know I just thought I'd ask" under normal circumstances, he'd immediately say no to ever going to a dance but with the awkward and already defeated look on Angel's face made him change his mind.

"Fine, but just this once and I will leave if I get bored."

"Of course, I'd never force you to stay."

* * *

The night of the dance was filled with static energy and excited chatter. Everyone was dressed to the nines and all in little groups, some were dancing to the idle music whilst others were scattered around the auditorium and muttering amongst themselves.

Jughead had dressed in a black suit and tie though he refused to take off his beanie, on his arm was a very chipper Angel. She had a knee length forest green dress with long lace sleeves, the lace also reached up to her neck and stopped where her breasts were. There was a heart shape space cut out which showed just the right amount of cleavage to tease and still be proper. She wore black pumps and had simple makeup to enhance her natural beauty.

"Well, they definitely outdid themselves this year" Angel commented as they made their way to the drinking bowl and grabbed two cups before someone could spike it with alcohol.

"All these lights are hurting my eyes," Jughead said with a groan "you're lucky you're my friend, otherwise I'd have been gone by now."

"It's because you love me," she said cheekily, they walked into the crowd so they could listen to Cheryl's speech.

"As honorary chairperson and de facto queen of tonight's semi-formal, it is my pleasure to introduce this evening's main entertainment. To know them is to be obsessed with them. They usually perform their own material, tonight they're making an exception and debuting a cover of the song my parents listened to the night Jason and I were conceived. This one's for you, JJ. I give you Josie and the Pussycats."

Angel shook her head and leant over to Jughead "I can't believe she wants to play her parents sex song."

"I'm not too sure I want to know the reason either" they shared a laugh at the Blossom's expense.

"Do you wanna dance?" Angel asked hesitantly.

With a shrug, Jughead said, "sure, why not" he moved them to the centre of the makeshift ballroom and gently grasped her painted hands, with an unsure smile, he wrapped her arms around his neck and placed his hands on her hips. She jolted and the sensation since her back was a sensitive spot for her but quickly settled. "Jumpy, are we?"

"No, shuddup" she shook her head and focused on their rhythmic swaying, it was slow and yet it made her heart race a million miles an hour. Sure, she's been this close to Jughead before, but this scenario seemed much more…intimate, even if it was purely platonic on his end.

"Hey, looks like Betty is finally making a move," Jughead said with a jerk of his head to the right. Angel followed his gaze and saw Betty and Archie standing close to each other, they were smiling for just a moment before frowns marred their faces.

"I think…Archie rejected her" Angel said with a sad expression, "is it bad that I knew this was going to happen?"

"No, it's not. Archie has never shown even an inkling of attraction towards Betty. I feel sorry for Betty but now she won't waste her time trying to chase someone who doesn't want her."

Angel looked at him with a sad smile "yeah…good for her."

* * *

It wasn't one heart that broke that night, but two. And the night was far from over. Kevin and Moose had run away from Cheryl's after party to have a little party of their own when they found the body of Jason Blossom. And as they stared at his bloated corpse they realised that he had not drowned as everyone thought he did, in fact, that hole in his head showed instead, he was shot.

By morning, everyone would be talking, texting, and posting about it. We'd all be feeling it. But the world around us had changed. Maybe forever.

That Riverdale wasn't the same town as before. That it was a town of shadows and secrets now.

On Monday, the autopsy on Jason's body would take place. And on Tuesday, halfway through fifth period. The first arrest would be made.


	2. The First Arrest

The morning after the formal, nearly the entire town had raced down to Sweetwater River to get a glimpse of Jason's corpse. It was selfish of them, but the town wanted to see for themselves that there were nefarious works at play.

At the very front of the group were the teenagers of Riverdale High, they had seen the body before he could be covered up. It was horrifying and would stay in their nightmares for the rest of their lives.

Cheryl had stared silently, unable to look away as her soulmate was packed in a bag and carted off somewhere to be cut and gutted.

Many stared on in pity for the poor girl who had lost a piece of her heart, her soul. It was unsurprising that she would be in agony. But what truly caused people to gape in shock was the sound of Angelica Sweetheart screaming her denials as she raced down the slope and over to Jason's body. Her screams of agony pierced everyone's heart as they looked at the girl being cradled in none other than Cheryl Blossom's arms.

The town, was once wholesome and innocent, now forever changed by the mysterious death of Jason Blossom on the 4th of July.

* * *

I think many of us, maybe the entire town had been hoping against hope that somehow Jason Blossom hadn't drowned on July 4th. That we'd come to school Monday morning, and there Jason would be. Or that we'd see him and Cheryl in a booth at Pops.

But that was before the undeniable irrevocable fact of his bloated, waterlogged body. A corpse with a bullet hole in its forehead, and terrible secrets that could only be revealed by the cold steel blade of a coroner's autopsy scalpel or the tell-tale beating of an agonised heart.

To the shock of all, Angelica Sweetheart was closer to Jason and Cheryl Blossom than anyone realised, seeing proof of his death had rattled her soul in ways she could never have realised.

There was a deeper mystery to his death and somehow, Angel was apart of it. And Jughead was going to get to the bottom of it.

In school, Jughead had stood watching Angel as she stared at Jason's memorial. The entire school passed by her and sent her curious looks, hoping to find out how close she was to the Blossom twins. But by no means did they not feel pity and sympathy for her immense sorrow. When Archie had finished embracing his cousin and watched her leave with Betty and Kevin, the Jones' boy decided to speak up "Hi" he said to the redhead, he felt awkward talking to Archie but after their brief conversation at Pop's when the redhead went looking for a broken-hearted Betty, he felt he should at least try.

At Chery's party, Archie and Veronica had willingly gone into a closet and betrayed Betty. What happened in that closet was a mystery to the writer, but he had a pretty good idea. "Do you think I could use Jason Blossom's death as an excuse to get out of PE? 'sorry, coach. I'm just too depressed and freaked out right now to do pull-ups'."

Archie looks at him disapprovingly "don't joke about Jason Blossom."

"What? Sardonic humour is just my way of relating to the world" Jughead sighed, "look, I just want to know how Angel is. She hadn't spoken or replied to any texts over the weekend and now she's all laughs and smiles."

"Not good" Archie replied sadly, "I didn't even know she was close to Jason."

"No one did, and considering what happened two years ago I wouldn't blame her for not telling anyone. I just don't want her to be how she was when…you know."

"She won't" Archie replied vehemently "I know she won't, she's stronger now, and we won't let her go through this alone."

"Yeah. Anyway, I should go before the Goonies decide to beat me up for something I didn't do" Jughead nodded to Archie and walked off quickly.

* * *

"Now that romance if off the table, I'll say it. Are we 100 percent sure Archie's straight?" Kevin asked Betty and Angel as they walked through the halls. Angel may have been heartbroken but she didn't want to isolate herself and push her friends away. She knew very well that being surrounded by friends can help far better than being alone. "Because no straight man has that body."

"Reggie has that body" Angel commented out of the blue, which cause the duo to look at her with wide eyes.

Betty gulped before asking, "ho-how do you know that?"

"I'd like to know too," Kevin said eagerly "and don't spare any details."

Angel snorted at their vastly different reactions to admission "it's not what you're thinking, he was on the oval and took off his shirt because it was covered in sweat and that's when I saw it."

"Don't make my heart jump like that Angel" Kevin said jokingly "but in all seriousness, how are you? It was a surprise to see you break down at Sweetwater."

Angel really hated answering this question "I'm not fine, to be completely honest with you but I know there is no point in becoming a hermit and crying my eyes out. If Cheryl can be strong then so can I."

"Why did you keep being friends with Jason from us?" Betty asked softly, she felt a little hurt that her best friend kept this from her, but she wasn't going to attack her for it, there had to be a reason. And she didn't want to lose a friend after getting her heart broken by Archie and Veronica.

"After what happened with Cheryl, Polly and my sister, Jason was there for me when she…was gone. We bonded over the pain and he pulled me back from the edge, literally and figuratively."

"I…we…Angel, you tried to…end it?" Betty said in shock, 2 years ago, a horrible thing had happened at Riverdale high that caused the death of Angel's sister. Betty always felt disgusted at Polly for what she caused and never spoke about it with Angel. It was too hard. "I'm sorry we weren't there for you."

Kevin nodded and pulled Angel into his arms "but we're here now."

"And I'm grateful but if you recall Betty, I couldn't…look at you without seeing Polly. It was horrible but I wasn't in the right frame of mind. Jason tried to help my sister before…but it was no use. He felt guilty for not helping her so we comforted each other. And when he started dating Polly again, I was so pissed that I stopped talking to him."

"I'm sorry you had to suffer like that Angel, and I hope you know that we _will_ be there for you through this. I promise" Betty kissed Angel's cheek and looked to Kevin as they continued walking, "speaking of Jason, have you recovered from finding his body?"

Kevin groaned at the question, "It was more traumatizing having to explain to my dad what I was doing with Moose at the river. Yet another perk of being the sheriff's son."

"How the hell have you managed to escape the wrath of Midge?" Angel said jokingly as she nudged his side.

"She doesn't think anything happened and you know Midge, she's not a psycho and she's too in love with Moose to ever think he would shack up with another dude" Kevin shoved Angel back as they entered the Admin office. He gasped as he saw the beautiful flowers "oh, my god, those are gorgeous. Are those for Betty, Mrs Phillips?"

"That's why I called her" Mrs Phillips looked incredibly annoyed to be a part of some teenager's torrid relationship. She was an Admin, not a matchmaker.

"Oh! They're yellow roses! I love roses!" Angel said squeakily as she smelt the flowers "what does the card say, Kev?"

"Dear Betty, please forgive me. XOXO, V? Who the hell is V?"

Angel immediately stepped back "bad flowers, bad flowers!" she said with a tone of disgust, flowers given to people as an apology were her most hated flowers. Her mother gave her a Boquete of Angel Bells as an apology for not coming home to celebrate her birthday and thought flowers were a good present. It tainted her view on apology flowers, and Veronica's apology cupcakes she was holding as she came into the office.

"The yellow is for friendship. I also had Magnolia cupcakes flown in from New York. Because, as my mom likes to say, there's no wrong the right cupcake can't fix."

"Well, unless it's a kissing a friend's crush kinda wrong," Angel said snippily as she grabbed her phone to text someone.

Veronica cleared her throat to hide her hurt at the redhead's words, she knew she deserved it, but she really wanted to be Angel's friend. "Also, I-I booked us for her-and-hers mani-pedis at Chez Salon. Blowouts too" Betty looked at Kevin and Angel to show she really didn't care for Veronica's apology but being the kind person she is, pushed her anger aside. "I am so, so sorry, Betty. I don't know what happened to me that night. It was such a basic-bitch move, it-it was like I was possessed by-"

"Madam Satan?" Kevin said in the gayest bitch voice he could ever muster, he was not buying her apology and knew for a fact that she would do it again because she didn't care about anyone but herself.

"The old Veronica" the lodge finished lamely "and I will never, ever do anything like that to you again. I swear on my mother's pearls. Just-can you please give me one more chance?"

"Okay."

"What?" Angel, Kevin and Veronica said with various tones. Kevin sounded like he thought Betty was stupid, Angel sounded like she was concerned for Betty's health and Veronica sounded hopeful.

"Awesome. I'll take it. And you won't regret it."

"Okay" Betty repeated again, she really didn't know what to say, she thought it would be easier to not fight.

"I'll bring these to lunch so we can celebrate" Veronica quickly skipped away so Betty couldn't change her mind.

Betty noticed Kev and Angel's looks and said, "It's the path of least resistance, guys. A week ago, Veronica and I weren't friends. Next week, we'll nod to each other as we pass in the hall, but that's it. In two weeks, she won't even remember my name. And in three, she'll have latched on to some other girl to destroy."

"Betty…" Angel said exasperatedly, the Cooper girl was too nice for her own good "I'm going to say to you what my dad says to me about my mom. Give her an inch and she will take a mile. Letting Veronica back into your life will let her believe that she can walk all over you again."

"I-I know…I just hope she'll leave us alone."

"She won't ever leave you alone" Kevin shot in "she knows you're incredibly sweet and kind, so she will walk all over you until you are dust and then she will sell your dust for a new pair of diamond earrings."

"That was really good," Angel said as they high fived.

"If she hurts me again then that's it, she's out of my life."

"Oh, Betty" Angel said sweetly as she stepped closer to her friend "if she hurts you again, I'm breaking her legs."

"Oh god no!" Betty shouted but ended up laughing instead.

* * *

 _"Good morning, students. This is your principal speaking. There have been many inquiries about the upcoming pep rally. So, let me state clearly…it is happening as scheduled. Now, on a less felicitous note, if you could give your attention to Sheriff Keller."_

 _"Most of you already know the details…but your classmate Jason Blossom's body was found late Saturday night. So as of the weekend, Jason's death is now being treated as a homicide. It is an open and ongoing investigation-"_

 _"And may I interject? Neither I nor my parents will rest until Jason's death is avenged, and his cold-hearted killer is walking the Green Mile to sit in Old Sparky and fry. I, for one, have my suspicions. #Riverdalestrong."_

 _"If you know anything that could help us find and apprehend Jason's killer or anything about what happened to him on July 4_ _th_ _I strongly urge you to come forward immediately. You can speak with me or Principal Weatherbee. A death like this wounds us all, let's not let Jason down."_

* * *

After the grim announcement, everyone had gone to their classes where they could whisper to their friends all the theories they have about Jason.

Angelica and Jughead were no different. They sat next to each other as lab partners and leant close to each other so no one could hear them "so wait, you think that Archie is connected to Jason's death?" Angel whispered harshly to Jughead, he was accusing her cousin of something she really didn't want him to be associated with.

"I know it sounds horrible but if you remember he bailed on me suddenly on the 4th, the exact same day Jason went missing…or the exact same day he was murdered."

"No-no, I don't think he would ever do something to Jason…but you're right, bailing on you so suddenly makes him incredibly suspicious-" she stopped when Archie walked into the classroom, she watched as he and Jughead shared a look before he walked to the back of the room "I'm guessing you've had a talk with him about this already" he nodded but chose not to speak when they heard Cheryl's so-called friends asking her about Jason.

"We were wondering, Cheryl. Back in July, you told the po-po that Jason drowned. Yet we come to find out that Jason didn't drown. He was shot. Slightly suspicious, no?"

Cheryl looked downright pissed at their accusation "are you suggesting I had something to do with my brother's death?"

"We're just curious. What do the police think happened?"

"I'll tell you what I told them, which is that Jason did fall into the water. We both did. I made it to the shore, he didn't. Maybe he made it to the other side of the river and someone shot him there. Who knows?"

Angel had enough with their interrogation and decided to take their heat off Cheryl and put it off her "hey ladies?" she said loudly which caught the attention of most the class "just because Jason didn't want to get into your pants doesn't mean you can take out your pissy little anger out on Cheryl. Oh wait, not only did he not want to fuck you, he didn't even know you existed."

The two girls look shocked and pissed at the shorter haired ginger " it's not like he'd fuck you, loser. Before your little barbie doll change, he thought you were a nerdy little creep."

Angel blinked but kept her sweet smile on her face "and yet, he'd have still fucked me if I asked. You little troll clones better take a seat before you hurt your little brains" the two girls petulantly took their seats as the class burst into laughter at their expense.

Jughead stared at the back of Angel's head. Before her makeover, she would have never of said such scathing words. He respected her want to defend Cheryl and put the girl's anger onto herself but how she did it made him pause. In that moment, the best word he could describe Angel with was that she was a bitch. And not in a bad way, she acted like Cheryl basically. At that moment he wanted to know exactly what her dad's girlfriend did to change Angel so drastically.

"Seats, everyone. Pair off, gloves on, scalpels up" the teacher called out as he raced to the front of the class.

"Can I be with Cheryl?" Archie said whilst already making his way over to the Blossom child.

"And I wanna be with Betty" Veronica called out which made Betty freak out.

"Oh, uh, I was thinking I'd partner with Kevin."

"Actually, uh, Keller's with me," Moose said suddenly as he walked past "we, like, talked."

"Oh, god" Kevin replied helplessly as he moved seats and Veronica took it.

Angel snorted and leaned on Jug's shoulder "so much drama, and everyone has ulterior motives."

"Pretty suspicious that Archie asked to pair with Cheryl since they never speak" Jug muttered back to her "a guilty conscious perhaps?"

"Or to find out what she knows" without taking her head off his shoulder, she grabbed the scalpel and handed it to him "you do it, I don't like hurting animals…even dead ones."

"Too cute."

* * *

"So, what did Moose what?" Veronica asked Kevin as she walked with him, Betty, Angel and Jughead. Angel and Betty refused to let Jughead sit alone just because he was at odds with Archie.

"Oh my god, I don't think Moose even knows," Kevin said with an amused smile "I mean, I am devastatingly handsome in that classic, pre-accident Montgomery Clift kind of way. And sexuality is fluid, but can someone named 'Moose' actually be that fluid?"

"If you weren't gay I would totally date you Kev," Angel said to the Sheriff's son with a flirtatious wink.

"Really?" Kevin said chipperly "it's a major confidence boost to have straight girls attracted to me."

"Yeah, and Moose isn't really fluid, he just likes sex."

Veronica chuckled as she said, "okay, well, I ship it."

"Well, of course you would. You're a big-city girl with loose morals" Kevin shot back without an ounce of regret "I just meant that Moose has an official girlfriend. Midge. Anyway, it's terrible to say but part of me wishes he would just stay in the darn closet." Kevin's impeccable timing made him say closet just as they met up with Archie. "Obviously, I didn't mean literal closet."

"Should we run away before the awkward atmosphere gets any worse?" Angel asks Jug as she sat next to Archie and Jug next to her.

"Its too late, running will make us look weak" he shut up immediately as she pulled out a large back of cheese and onions chips.

"Archie!" Veronica quickly called out in the hopes the topic would be something other than her act of betrayal "any new material you wanna try out on a very forgiving audience? Please?" she pleaded as she looked at Kevin and Betty, she obviously wanted him to play a song that would convince the others to truly forgive her. Betty may, but the other three wouldn't. Jughead wasn't even that interested in the weird love triangle and he still hated Veronica for what she and Archie did.

"Would you? I'd love to hear it" Betty request finally made Archie cave in, even with everything that happened she was still important to him and he could never say no when she asked.

"I'm still working on the lyrics, so…" he trailed off and started to strum a soft tune on his acoustic guitar, _"come on, turn the radio on_

 _And, honey, we'll dance_

 _Dance, dance_

 _For the rest of the night_

 _I'm not ready…_

Jughead and Angel tensed when they saw Betty's happy façade break and the true pain underneath shine through. They had been waiting for her mask to fall, they just didn't think it would happen so soon. Archie and Veronica must have hurt her more than anyone had realised. "Betty? You okay?" Archie asked hesitantly though inside he knew the answer.

Betty laughed at the question, "I'm supposed to say 'yes.' That's what the nice girl always says, but…" she quickly stood from her seat before she broke down in front of him "no, I'm not. I-I want to be, I thought I could be, but it's too much, too fast. Archie-" before she could say any more, she turned and hurried away with a frantic Archie behind.

Veronica went to follow but Angel stopped her "if Betty is hurting like this, do you really think she wants you to follow her too?"

"I just- I didn't want to hurt her," Veronica said solemnly.

Jughead snorted at that "if you didn't want to hurt her, then you wouldn't have betrayed her like that" he stood up and gently grasped Angel's hand, he could tell when she was going to explode and shout at someone and knew she was about 3 seconds away from attacking Veronica. "See you later Kevin."

Kevin nodded but he too left the table, unable to be close to the person who had destroyed his closest friend.

And Veronica was left one to suffer the effects of her betrayal.

* * *

Jughead watched as Angel paced back and forth in the hallway hoping it would calm her raging emotions "I just want to rip that girls black heart out and crush it! I am so pissed!"

"A little dark, don't you think?"

"I know but that girl is horrible!" she stopped pacing and dropped her head onto Jug's chest, as he wrapped his arms around her, she used his heartbeat to soothe her own. "How could anyone do that to Betty, how could both of them do that?" she whispered softly in defeat.

"You are taking this personally Ang, Archie is not Polly and Betty is not your sister" he pulled her closer to him, so her head now lay in the crook of his neck.

"I know but, I don't want this to destroy Betty, she's more delicate than my sister, this could break her."

"Betty will get over this, I know she will. Just be there for her" he pushed her back and kissed her forehead. Angel had a terrible habit of taking on other people's burdens and carrying their pain. She couldn't feel their emotions, but she certainly acted as though she was empathic and it's what caused her to overreact the way she did.

"Thanks, Jug, you're the only one who can ever calm me down" she kissed his cheek and stepped back "walk me to Cheerleading practice?" he nodded and grabbed her arm as a gentleman should.

As they walked through the empty halls, Jughead suddenly halted and backtracked to the music room, "Jug? What's up?"

"It all makes sense now" he whispered to her as she stepped back and pointed to the small glass window on the door. She peered in and gasped when she saw Archie and Mrs Grundy standing incredibly close and holding each other intimately.

"What the actual fuck?" she whispered harshly as they raced away before incredibly wrong couple saw them, who knows how they would react to be discovered "I can't believe Archie is shaking up to miss paedophile!"

"Is she why he's been silent about July 4th? He knows something, and she is manipulating him."

"He is such an idiot, he could ruin his life if he gets caught" they slowed to a stop in front of the gymnasium and turned to each other "we need to get him to stop this before he gets hurt."

"I agree, text me when you're done with practice, we need to talk" she nodded and hugged him goodbye before heading inside.

* * *

The Vixen's immediately started to practice the moment the last person arrived, Cheryl wanted her squad to be absolutely perfect but no matter how hard she tried, she could not get them to listen to her "stand down, Vixens, and listen up" she called to her squad, "the weather's predicting a downpour the night of the rally. But already, you're raining on my parade. With Jason so present in our collective consciousness, all eyes will be one me. 'Will this beautiful, exotic hothouse flower frown under the town's scrutiny? Or be swamped by her emotions? The answer, ladies, is no and no. That said, I need star power. I need the Pussycats. Stay loose and limber, ladies, while I make a call" the squad sagged with relief as they separated for a short break.

Betty and Angelica were sitting next to each other when Veronica sat down beside them "after this practice, I really need a pedicure. You?" Betty inwardly sighed but made the excuse that she had homework, "I know everyone grieves differently, but Cheryl's hosting a pep rally to cope with her loss. That either brilliant or psychotic or both."

Angel snorted and rolled her eyes, she was still on the precipice of cutting into Veronica, so she remained silent whilst Betty replied snippily, "yeah, well, at least Cheryl's not putting on an act. Pretending she's a butterfly when she's really a wasp."

"Oh, snap!" Angel blurted out, she had to, it was impressive, and she was proud of Betty for sticking up for herself.

Veronica, on the other hand, did not see it that way "for the record, the only reason I went into that closet with Archie was so that Cheryl wouldn't"

"Neither of you had to go into the closet at all" Angel snapped "Cheryl isn't the queen of America, she can't force you to do something you don't want."

Veronica glared at the redhead and shot back "I did it to protect Betty."

That caused Betty to stand up and glare down at her "okay, so nothing happened between you and Archie in the closet, then?" silence told her the answer, "yeah, that's what I thought. You know Archie and I were fine before you got here."

Veronica stood from the floor as she said, "if by 'fine,' you mean he was oblivious, and you were pining after him in quiet desperation."

"We were friends, at least."

"You were walking on eggshells, scared to tell the truth."

"Okay, you don't know me, Veronica."

"It is not my fault he doesn't like you" that stopped Betty rant "if that's what you're thinking, it's not anyone's fault, it's not even stupid Archie's, it's just how it is. Most of the time, the people we like don't like us back. Romeo and Juliet are the exceptions, not the rule."

"Ok little miss know it all" Angel finally stepped in, having enough of Veronica's self-righteous attitude "it may not be the rule but there is a rule about not kissing your friends crush. Like I said before, you didn't have to go into the closet with Archie, but you thought that it was your chance to get in good with the ginger dreamboat without dear, sweet Betty knowing but now that its backfired you're trying to play the victim. I liked you, Veronica, I really did. We all could have been great friends but what you did was the lowest of the low, it just shows how little you respect your friends. And before you say that Archie is innocent, he just rejected his best friend and then made out with you, now that is a shitty thing to do."

"The Pussycats are in," Cheryl said as she suddenly appeared "oh, sorry ladies, am I interrupting?"

"As a matter of fact-"

"No, you're not. I was about to come find you, Cheryl" Betty cut in quickly before Veronica could finish. Angel stayed silent because she knew Betty was going to do something to annoy Veronica, "I have a gift certificate for her-and-hers mani-pedis and blowouts at Chez Salon. Do you wanna come with me?"

"Don't do this" the lodge girl was quickly shut down by the Blossom girl.

"Butt out, Closet Monster. You have forfeited your right to take the high-and-mighty road. As _pour moi_ , Betty, but of course. I never say no to a pedi. Angel, do you think you could spare some money to join us?"

"Sure, I'll join" Angel grasped Cheryl and Betty's hands and gently pulled them away from Veronica, all the while watching as Betty looked back at the blackette with a smug grin.

* * *

After the day at the Salon, Angel, Betty and Cheryl had gone back to Betty's home to doll up each other "Your room, its sweet" Cheryl complemented as she put makeup on the Cooper girl.

"I dunno, it's too girly, it doesn't feel right."

"No, I like how girly it is. Mine is too. You should both come over and see it sometime. But just you gals, not Veronica. I mean, she must be evil incarnate if even you won't have her as a friend."

"I wouldn't say evil incarnate but she pretty close," Angel said from her spot behind Betty, she was brushing the Cooper's silky blonde locks. It's said that if you brush your hair 1000 times it becomes knot free and super soft.

"And on the subject of friends, Betty, I'm sorry I've been such a witchy witch to you. After Polly and Jason's epic demise, I was angry at everyone. But I took it out on you, which was super unfair. Especially, since, in a way, it's kind of like we both lost siblings. How-how is Polly? Still in that group home? You think she knows what happened to Jason? That he was murdered?"

"I-I'm not sure."

"What do you think went down between them?"

"I don't know."

"What do your parents say?"

"About Jason and Polly? Not a lot."

"Same. I keep thinking that maybe Jason said something to her or she said something to him. I mean didn't they have a big fight this summer or-"

"Why are you asking me so many questions about Polly? Cheryl?"

"Because, you dumb cow, someone shot my brother and I think it was your crazy, tweaked-out sister."

"Whoa!" Angel shouted as she jumped off the bed "Cheryl there was no reason for that!"

"I want answers and since no one in this town is doing anything I will have to be the one to do it!"

"How dare you accuse my sister of killing your brother!"

"Who else would have done it! No one would hate him more than Polly!"

"She would never do something like that!"

"Who knows what that group home is doing to her brain! They could have made her psychotic enough _to_ do it!"

"Well, who's to say that you didn't kill him! You did say he drowned! Maybe that was a cover!"

"ENOUGH!" the duo stopped yelling at each other and looked at the angry Angel "enough, both of you, this doesn't solve anything" she sighed and sat down on the bed "look, you're both angry and I get that but pointing the finger won't do anything. I hate Polly with every fibre of my being but even I know she wouldn't do it and so do you Cheryl" the redhead heiress looked to the floor "and Betty, you _know_ that Cheryl loves her brother more than anything in the world, she would never kill him. You both need to take a step back and breathe, just a for a second so you can see clearly how stupid these accusations sound."

She watched in silence as the two girls did as she said and took a moment to collect their thoughts. After a moment, Cheryl decided to be the one to speak first, "I want so badly to catch who killed Jason. I mean, who would _want_ to kill Jason, he's never done anything to hurt anyone in his life."

"But he hurt Polly" Betty muttered softly.

"I know, and he never meant to but if you had the parents I do you'd understand. They try to control everything in our lives, including who we date. Jason tried to stay with Polly, but our parents were threatening to ruin her life."

"I-I didn't know that."

"Of course not, everyone saw Jason as the bad guy who wanted to hurt Polly for fun. In my anger, I blamed Polly for everything, because what else can I do. And like I said, I took my anger out on you Betty when I know its not your fault."

"It's alright Cheryl, even though Polly didn't die I've still lost her, I can understand the pain you're going through."

"Are you both cool?" Angel asked the two once she thought they finished. The girls nodded, and she sighed "great, we should probably go to bed."

"I'm going to head home," Cheryl said softly "I've already done enough damage" without waiting for a reply, she waltzed out of the house.

"You have a way of getting through Cheryl ego, it's astonishing," Betty said to Angel as they crawled under the covers.

"I do that to a lot of people, I have a way of seeing the third side of things not many people can. Though I can't when it comes to myself."

"I'm glad you've never betrayed me."

"And I never will."

* * *

Many things happened through the next school day.

Veronica and Betty made up and Angel begrudgingly did so as well.

Archie made up with Jughead and was now going to tell Sheriff Keller about how he heard the gunshot on July 4th.

The pep rally was a success until Cheryl ran off crying, luckily Veronica and Angel were there to comfort her.

But there was one thing that truly marked the day, it was the arrest of Cheryl Blossom.

As shocking as her arrest was, it was nothing compared to the secrets that Jason's body had given up during its autopsy. That Jason didn't die on July 4th as we believed, but over a week later.


End file.
